[inner monologue] Hmm... I might need to begin to question my assumptions a bit more. Since Carlfield is so accurate to the fabric of reality, a Carlfield-style cat with human motivations might be expected, in theory. However, Carlfield is merely a depiction, not something that truly exists. He symbolizes the ways John David sees the world, he exists as an amalgamation of features designed to illustrate the hypocrisy of modern society, the ways people unnecessarily allow their own emotions to be controlled. Yet would it really be so strange to have something like that actually exist? People can do incredible thingsβthey can make robots, costumes of dinosaurs that speak and convey information. And these existences are here for us to witness and notice how covering up human free will and ability to communicate with something unassociated with those concepts breaks down our preconceived notions. When I see a talking cat, that right there is the problem. Society gives me the pure, unquestionable assumptionβthis cannot be real. I am witnessing an impossibility. But when I read Carlfield, perhaps that is yet another message it's trying to conveyβthat we can take something unreal and place it in a simulated reality, a comic strip, and we won't question anything. A cat with thoughts, a voice, emotions, and decisions is not out of place in the world. It does not matter how much it speaks. It does not matter how much a fish struggles, as I slice it up and serve it on a plate. It does not matter how much Carlfield continues to hate Mondays. We all let our lives be defined by constructs of societyβthat days of the week are real, that people have "more" free will than other organisms, that free will even matters in the first place. Real freedom is letting yourself completely remove your own feelings from the equation when making decisions. Do not choose. You shouldn't be able to say anything. Your happiness will dwindle if you are ever invested in the result. What I must do is break free of those assumptionsβdenounce society, and embrace Carlfield. As hard as I try, I still fell victim to the same thing I did previously. Carlfield is right here, right in front of me. That's NOT out of the ordinary. It is normal. My brother wants me to continue as normal? Well, normal is all I can be. I have no desire to ever distinguish myself. I refuse to take any action. That's why I'm here.
"...How do you feel about Mondays?"